The invention relates to a method of producing a switch housing for capacitive switches, to a switch housing which has integrated electrically conductive electrode structures, and to a capacitive switch equipped with the switch housing.
Capacitive switches are in principle composed of a flat electrode on one side of a dielectric material layer, the face of which facing away therefrom forming a contact surface. Switch housings for capacitive switches are usually made of plastic material. The front face of the switch housing forms the contact surface, and the face opposite thereto on the inside of the switch housing supports an electrically conductive electrode structure. Such electrode structures can be applied as conductive layers onto the electrically non-conductive plastic material of the switch housing using a so-called conductive lacquer or other electrically conductive materials. Only thin layers can be applied by means of usual coating methods. The required electrode structures may have a complex shape so that specific coating methods are required. For the secure contacting of the electrode structures, precise 3-D structures are necessary which can only be obtained with difficulty with a coating method. For applications in the automotive field, conventional coating solutions are furthermore mechanically susceptible and prone to corrosion.